Tee ES, Tan SY and Fatimah S

Expert Committee, MyNutriBaby Programme

A contemporary parent education programme on infant and young child

nutrition

Key Points

• Good nutrition is especially essential during the first two years of life.

• Suboptimal feeding practices may contribute to:

• malnutrition

• associated risks of poor growth

• impaired development

• increased susceptibility to infections, and

• a predisposition to certain chronic diseases in later life

• Malaysian Dietary Guidelines for Children & Adolescents (2013) recommends that infants be exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life and continued breastfeeding up to 2 years

• Complementary foods should be introduced at the age of 6 months

2

Current Status

• According to the Third National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS

III) the overall prevalence of ever breastfed among children aged less

than 12 months increased from 88% in 1996 to 95% in 2006

• The Putrajaya State Health Department reported prevalence of

exclusive breastfeeding below 6 months increased from 21% in 2010

to 43% in 2013.

• For complementary feeding, only 41.5% infants received timely

complementary feeding (between ages 6 to 10 months)

• At present published data on food intake of children 3 to 6 years are

lacking, however a recent study indicate only 26% and 32% of

preschoolers consumed fruits and vegetables only twice a week, with

12% not eating vegetables at all.1

1Mohd Nasir MT et al. (2012). Child feeding practices, food habits, anthropometric indicators and cognitive performance

among preschoolers in Peninsular Malaysia. iAppetite 58:525-530

3

Challenges in Breastfeeding

• Perception that mothers may not provide adequate amount of milk

• Father’s attitude towards breastfeeding

• Perception that a working mother is unable to continue to exclusive breastfeed

• Poor support at work place

Common challenges

• Improper latching

• Common breastfeeding problems such as breast engorgement, sore nipples etc.

Physiological challenges

• Non-supportive family members

• Lack of emotional support from husbands

• Too much housework

Other challenges

4

Challenges in Complementary Feeding

• Early introduction to complementary food as early as 2 months of age

Common Challenges

• Early introduction to complementary food shortens duration of breastfeeding and interferes with uptake of important nutrients found in breast milk, such as iron and zinc.

Physiological Challenges

• Lack of knowledge

• Myths and wrong perception on types of foods, when to start complementary foods, etc.

Other Challenges

5

Challenges in Table Foods

• Meeting energy and nutrients requirement

• Children may take longer time to eat foods of inappropriate texture

• Inappropriate feeding style of caregivers

Common Challenges

6

The Mission

• Aimed at supporting parents by providing practical advice and information

on all aspects of infant and child nutrition

• NSM in collaboration with the following partners launched the

programme:

Partners

Corporate supporter

7

Educational Objectives

• To educate mothers on preparing to breastfeed with confidence

• To provide mothers with guidance & practical advice on how to

practice good complementary feeding (how, what & when to feed

baby)

• To educate mothers on appropriate feeding behaviour

management to set the foundation for lifetime of healthy eating

8

Mother’s Smart Choice (2011-2014)

Launch ceremonies with media

publicity (2011 & 2012)

Parents Talks At Baby Expos

Educational Videos

Nurse Talks At Private Hospitals Press Advertorials

9

Parent Booklets Series

Going Digital with MNB (2015)

10

• From mid-2014, Mother’s Smart Choice was rebranded as

MyNutriBaby (MNB) following the release of the Malaysian

Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents (MDGCA) in

2013

• Same professional and corporate partners

www.mynutribaby.org.my

• An online guide to infant and young children nutrition

• Tailored to new mothers

• Covers 3 main topics:

Breastfeeding

Complementary feeding

Table foods

• Supported by:

Videos

Downloadable aids

Recipes

• Articles available in both English and Bahasa Malaysia

• To date, achieved more than 70,000 page views

11

Preparing for breastfeeding

• Targeting pregnant moms

• Packed with practical tips and expert advice for mothers on how to breastfeed right

• Presents an upbeat, contemporary approach to breastfeeding in a helpful manner

12

Articles, Videos & Downloadable Aids

13

Preparing for complementary feeding

• Aimed at

correcting working mothers’ perception on how complementary feeding is time consuming

helping mothers nurture baby’s eating skills by giving the right types of food at the right time

14

Articles, Videos, Downloadable Aids & Recipes

15

Preparing for table foods

• Offers

An introduction to table foods and set foundation for a lifetime of healthy eating

Fun mealtime tips to help busy parents prepare nutritious meals and dine as a family

16

Articles, Videos, Downloadable Aids & Recipes

17

MNB Facebook

• Facebook : www.facebook.com/MyNutriBaby

• Page likes: > 10,000

• Posts reached out to 3 million people in 2015

18

World Breastfeeding Week 2014

• MNB launched an educational video and a community contest to

promote support for breastfeeding mothers

• Reached out to > 550,000 people from MNB Facebook page

19

World Breastfeeding Week 2015

• Theme: “Breastfeeding & Work: Let’s Make it Work!”

• Activities:

1. Social experiment video

2. Working mummies’ wishes poll

3. Press articles

4. Post-campaign TV interview 20

1. Social Experiment Video

21

Play Video

1. Social Experiment Video

22

ENGLISH BM

1. Social Experiment Video - Comments

23

1. Social Experiment Video - Comments

24

15.1%

18.3%

21.5% 21.9%

12.8% 10.5%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

Less than 1 month 1-3 months 4-6 months Up to 1 year Up to 2 years More than 2 years

Duration of breastfeeding after returning to work N=219

2. Working mummies’ wishes poll (Total entries = 755)

25

23.7%

43.4%

9.6% 12.3%

8.2%

2.7%

8%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

45.0%

50.0%

The facilities andenvironment at work

were not conducive forexpressing milk

My milk supply hadreduced

My baby stoppedwanting breast milk

I could not cope withall my responsibilities

I became pregnant I was discouraged byfamily members

Others

Main reason for stopping breastfeeding N=219

2. Working mummies’ wishes poll

26

37.1%

54.4%

40.2%

32.2%

27.4%

60.7%

14.8%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

Clean and privatespace to express

milk

Fridge to store milk Clean and safewater source and

sink

Breaks to expressmilk

Flexible workinghours

Support andunderstanding from

bosses andcolleagues

None of the above

Existing workplace facilities and support N=676

3. Press Articles – BM Media

27

Utusan Malaysia

(Print & Online)

Berita Harian

Harian Metro

3. Press Articles – English Media

28

The Sun Daily

New Straits Times

Her World

magazine

3. Press Articles – Chinese Media

29

Oritental Daily News

(Print & Online)

4. Post-campaign TV interview

Bernama TV interview

• Date: October 7, 2015 (Wednesday)

• Time: 12.00pm – 1.00pm

• Highlights:

• About MNB programme & showcasing the website

• Discuss about issues related to BF and work

• Discussion of the results from poll

30

Educational Materials for Parents

• MNB is also promoted through leaflet drops at gynaecology and paediatrics clinics, hospital initiatives and nurse talks

• Promotional materials includes:

• MNB promotional leaflet

• Food dial

• Distributed to over 100 private and government clinics

31

Educational Materials for Parents

32

Orders from the Malaysian

Paediatric Association (MPA)

Congress 2015

• Received more than 50 orders

from both private and

government hospitals/clinics from

different states including Sabah

and Sarawak.

Hospital Initiatives – MNB Day

• Conducted a total of 5 MNB Days at

following hospitals:

1. Columbia Asia Puchong Hospital

2. Sunway Medical Centre

3. Subang Jaya Medical Centre

4. Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur Hospital

5. Pantai Medical Centre Kuala Lumpur

• Session 1: Breastfeed with

Confidence

• Baby Steps to Successful

Breastfeeding talk

• Lactation Diet Cooking Demo

• Session 2: Baby’s First Bites

• Baby’s First Bites talk

• Yummylicious Foods for Baby

Cooking Demo

33

Session 1: Breastfeed with Confidence

34

Baby Steps to Successful Breastfeeding Talk

by Pn Fatimah Salim

Lactation Diet Cooking Demo

by Chef Marina Mustafa

Session 2: Baby’s First Bites

35

Baby’s First Bites Talk by Dr Tan Sue Yee

Yummy Recipes for Baby Cooking

Demo by Chef Marina Mustafa

Cooking Workshop @ Sunway Medical Centre

36

Conclusion

• MNB has demonstrated a promising potential in terms of combining digital media and on-ground activities to increase parental awareness of appropriate infant and young child feeding practices

• Parents who participated in the MyNutriBaby activities have demonstrated great interest and increased learnings which should contribute towards improved infant and young child feeding

• The Nutrition Society of Malaysia is committed to continue to contribute towards these areas of early life nutrition promotion and is not aimed at promoting any commercial product

• We are happy to share the educational materials developed to all who wish to use them to utilise them for educational purposes

37

END

38